Winger wants to delay electric sale referendum, council vote

The Vero Beach Power Plant, as seen from the northeast on Oct. 25, 2011.

Treasure Coast Newspapers

VERO BEACH — As proponents and opponents of a March 12 referendum on the sale of the city's electric system raise money to support their positions, Councilman Dick Winger is seeking to delay the referendum.

Winger at Tuesday's City Council meeting also will seek to defer the signing of an agreement to sell the system to FPL. The City Council currently is scheduled to discuss the proposed contract at a Feb. 12 special call meeting, but is not expected to vote on it until its Feb. 19 meeting.

The contract approval is contingent on a positive vote in the citywide referendum.

Winger, in backup information, is proposing to defer the signing of the contract and the referendum until the city's transactional attorneys have a way to resolve outstanding issues involving some of the city's wholesale power contracts. The city needs to be able to exit contracts with the Florida Municipal Power Agency before it can close on a deal to sell its electric utility.

Winger writes there is no reason to sign an agreement that is in flux or to spend additional money on the purchase agreement until a solution to the FMPA contract issues can be found, "if such a solution exists."

Mayor Craig Fletcher is opposed to deferring the signing of the agreement or delaying the referendum.

"I have no interest in doing that whatsoever," Fletcher said about the possibility of deferring the referendum. He said it is better to know sooner whether the voters approve of the sale agreement. If they don't, then the city can stop spending money on the deal.

He also believes signing the contract would have a positive impact in regard to the issues involving the FMPA contract because it would show the agency the city is committed to the sale and moving forward.

Winger on Friday emphasized he is in favor of the sale and in fact, thinks the process is moving too slowly as well as with too much uncertainty. He was critical of the city's transactional attorneys Friday for not meeting more often with FMPA to try to resolve the contract issues.

Winger said such a resolution might involve changing the city's agreement with FPL, so he questions why the city should sign it at this time.

Glenn Heran, who has been at the forefront of efforts to get the city out of the electric utility business, late last month sought donations from the attendees of a South Beach Property Association to help pay for campaign efforts in support the March 12 referendum.

Former City Attorney Charlie Vitunac, on the other hand, is seeking donations to defeat the March referendum, while gathering signatures for a separate referendum dealing with how the city handles the sale of its utilities.

Both men have formed political committees to receive money for their efforts. Heran's group, known as the Citizens for a Brighter Future, initially was created to support an earlier referendum to allow for the lease of the land the power plant sits on. That referendum, conducted in November 2011, was approved by Vero Beach voters by almost a 2-1 margin.

Vitunac and current City Attorney Wayne Coment have been at odds over whether that referendum satisfied a city charter requirement that the lease of the power plant for a business purpose must be approved by voters. Vitunac says the referendum did not satisfy the requirement because an actual lease had not been prepared at the time of the vote.

Heran at last week's meeting noted people outside the city limits will not be able to vote in the referendum even though they receive city electric service. He told them they can support the passage of the referendum through donations to his political committee.

The committee's latest report shows it has a little more than $1,300 in its coffers. In addition to his request at last week's meeting, donations also are being solicited through a newsletter distributed by Steve Faherty, who along with Heran, has been a leading critic of the city's electric system.

Heran noted with the city's decision in December to raise the municipal electric rates by 5.8 percent, residents are paying about 40 percent more than they would to FPL — based on a 1,000 kilowatt hour residential bill.

Heran told the group the higher rates are costing the area $25 million a year and urged them not to miss the opportunity to leave the city's system.

"Don't miss this chance," he said.

Vitunac contends the city artificially is keeping the rates high to promote the sale of the city's system to FPL. He pointed to the City Council deciding to pay upfront for work on two turbine generators at the plant instead of financing the project, expected to cost as much as $4.2 million.

Vitunac said there are a lot of people who do not "like the dismantling" of the city, which he claims could take place if the city no longer gets income from the electric system. Transfers from the electric utility account for more than a third of the city's general fund budget of about $19.5 million.

While the March 12 vote will ask residents if they want to sell the system to FPL, Vitunac is gathering signatures for a referendum that could change the city's charter in regard to the requirements for the sale of the city's utilities. His proposal would require any sale to be approved by a four-fifths vote of the City Council and by voters at a referendum.